The ways to become a good citizen begin from active volunteerism in the community. Advocating for social problems and addressing situations are traits of vigilance that cultivate a responsible mindset within a cautious citizen. An excellent way to propagate such burning flares through proper channels is to take the role of a communicator- an ethical stream that can be expressed as Citizen Journalism.
There are several nomenclatures to this terminology. Stories picked up by ordinary people rather than professional journalists are part of citizen journalism. Worldwide examples establish why it is a phenomenal method to improve citizen centricity like the movement for Black Lives Matter. Back at the beginning of the 21st-century, when there was less outreach to social media platforms, people still took the role of witness media in passing information. But social media nowadays have given people immense power to talk about the issues they want to preach, provide evidence, seek resolution, and share the experience with concerned groups.
The Citizen Journalism Bangladesh (CJB) Facebook group is an endeavor to bridge the gap between solution seekers and policy initiators. The group has over 34,000 members and everyday new citizen experiences are shared. The motive of this platform is to develop understanding and a better relationship among the Government-Citizen-Private entities. The group encourages citizen innovations and promises to introduce exemplary ideas on national and international stages. Through the citizen journalism Bangladesh group, it has been widely accepted that any honest work done for the nation and the people will be appreciated and nurtured to attain greater benefits.
The idea for CJB came as part of increasing citizen centricity in all spheres of social norms. The group was first created on 30th December 2016 and has since been moderated by Mr. Manik Mahmud, the Head of Social Innovation Cluster, Aspire to Innovate(a2i). The initiatives elevated in this group are further shared with cabinet division policymakers by Manik Mahmud and his team. With this process, scopes for collaboration are explored, with multiple synergic opportunities. Numerous volunteer groups and innovators have connected through here and got benefitted from practicing volunteerism in various spectrums. The method is simple. You have an initiative you wish to promote or connect with people who can contribute to the topology, you post about it, draw attention, and if your idea stands out, it gets appraisals, acclamations, and collaborations.
The CJB moderators have also helped in elevating many ideas that have been shared here through different channels.
The initiative that has received remarkable attention from the group is – Shobar Dhaka app; solving regular pedestrian problems of Dhaka North City Corporation. The app collaborated with CJB in July 2021 with the aim to increase public participation in governance and reach to every household, to together identify and address all public concerns. By sharing pictures of the problems, and feedbacks on rapid solutions, citizens have generated a positive budge through the Citizen Journalism Bangladesh group. People are now aware that a supportive app exists and are keener to use the app for solving local problems.
Another initiative is BD Clean, which works with the motto of achieving cleanliness throughout the country. Alokito Joyanta is a model village for development, and jointly with a2i, the organization has participated in “Citizens Talk” program to represent their works and vision. Project Pathshala spreading the light of education, etc.
All these ideas started small and have been developed to evolve as big projects.
The Citizen Journalism Bangladesh group is setting an example of how, with a little encouragement, a bud can bloom to the full blossom. People are learning to become active participants in the development of the country. To finally live the dream of a Golden Bangladesh, this is all we need.
Written By Tanha Tarannum Emita